From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development

1. From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development Committee on Integrating the Science of Early Childhood Development Board on Children, Youth, and Families Institute of Medicine National Research Council October, 2000 Presentation to The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. October 17, 2003

2. Putting the Study in Context • Explosion of knowledge in neurobiology and the behavioral and social sciences • Marked transformations in the social and economic circumstances under which families are raising young children • Unacceptably wide gap between what we know and what we do to promote healthy development in early childhood

3. CORE CONCEPTS

4. Take-Home Messages • The traditional nature versus nurture debate is simplistic and scientifically obsolete • Environmental influences clearly affect brain development, beginning well before birth and continuing long into adulthood • Early intervention programscan improve the odds for vulnerable children, but those that work are rarely simple, inexpensive, or easy to implement

5. Take-Home Messages • How young children feel is as important as how they think, and how they are treated is as important as what they are taught, particularly with regard to their readiness to succeed in school • Healthy early development depends on nurturing and dependable relationships • Culture influences all aspects of early development through child-rearingbeliefs and practices

6. Take-Home Messages • There is no scientific evidence that special “stimulation” activities, beyond normal growth-promoting experiences, lead to “advanced” brain development • Substantial scientific evidence indicates that poor nutrition, infections, neurotoxins, and chronic stress can harm the developing brain • Significant parental mental health problems, substance abuse,andfamily violence impose heavy developmental burdenson young children

7. IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY AND PRACTICE

8. If we really want to secure a promising economic, social, and political future for our country, then we must enhance the value of our investments in early childhood development. Central to a prudent investment strategy is a well balanced portfolio that combines effective supports for parents and a serious commitment to expanded training and enhanced compensation for non-family providers of early care and education.

9. If we really want to enhance children's readiness to succeed in school, then we must pay as much attention to their emotional health and social competence as we do to their cognitive abilities and academic skills. Early literacy is clearly important---but knowing the alphabet is not enough if you can't sit still or control your temper in the classroom.

10. If we really want to break the cycle of intergenerational dependence on public assistance, then we must measure the success of welfare reform beyond its impact onlabor force participation. A significant number of working mothers with young children still have incomes below the poverty level, and research indicates that early childhood poverty is a strongpredictor of later academic difficulties and failure to complete high school.

11. If we really want to reduce the economic, political, and social costs of violent crime, then we must confront its early roots. Effective treatments are available for young children who have been victimized by abuse, neglect, or early exposure to violence, yet most of these emotionally traumatized youngsters receive little or no professional mental health services.

12. If we really want to support familiesand promote healthy adult-child relationships, then we must create more viable choices for working parents. Much can be learned from other industrialized nations that provide both subsidizedparental leave for those who wish to stay at home with their babies and affordable, decent quality, early care and education for the children of those who choose or are compelled to return to work.

13. CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

14. Interactions Among Science, Policy, and Practice Demand Dramatic Rethinking • Need for substantial commitment to workforce development to assure delivery of knowledge-based services • Need to confront the indefensiblefragmentation of early childhood policies and programs • Need to change the politicized contextof program evaluation which results in a high stakes environment that undermines quality improvement

15. Urgent Need for a New Public Dialogue • Moving beyond blaming parents, communities, business, or government • Rethinking the appropriate balance between individual (private) and shared (public) responsibility for children

16. Imperative to Move Beyond Four Non-Productive Polarizations • Nature versus nurture • Cognition/literacy versus social and emotional development • Family versus government responsibility for children • Moral obligation versus economic investment

17. Compelling Search for Common Ground Need for a broad-based approach to early childhood policies and programs that is guided by the complementary contributions of science, values, and value